GLASGOW Warriors’ injury crisis has worsened ahead of today’s European Champions Cup match against Racing 92, with key players being added to an already lengthy list of those unavailable to Gregor Townsend.
The problem is especially acute at scrum-half, where the coach does not have a recognised reserve No 9 to call upon for this afternoon’s Pool 3 game at the Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir on the outskirts of Paris. Ali Price, the Scotland age-group international who has only played 11 times for Glasgow, will start the match. If he has to come off, Townsend will turn to Lee Jones, the Scotland winger.
Jones at least has some experience from his younger days of playing at scrum-half, and has the speed and vision to slot in well if called on. Nonetheless, the situation is far from ideal.
The head coach has known for some time that he would be without Henry Pyrgos, his first-choice scrum-half, for another couple of months. Mike Blair then joined Pyrgos on the sidelines, and now a third Scotland international No 9, Grayson Hart, has been added to the casualties.
So too has Josh Strauss, the No 8, adding to Townsend’s worries in the back row, where Simone Favaro and Rob Harley are also unavailable. Behind the scrum, Peter Horne’s foot injury has cut down on the coach’s options at centre, where Alex Dunbar and Richie Vernon have also been injured. Finn Russell has therefore been brought in at inside centre, with Duncan Weir continuing at stand-off.
On the positive side, Pat MacArthur is available again and starts at hooker in preference to Fraser Brown, who is on the bench and can also serve as a back-row substitute if required. And among the backs replacements there is a place for Glenn Bryce, who is also returning from injury.
“We have three big European games coming up, starting with a trip to Paris to face the Top 14 leaders tomorrow afternoon,” Townsend said after announcing his team yesterday. “We were really pleased with a number of aspects in last week’s game against Edinburgh and we are looking forward to the challenge of facing one of the form teams in Europe on their own patch.
“We've been boosted by the return of Pat MacArthur and Glenn Bryce from injury, while Finn Russell comes in for Peter Horne, who we expect to be without for a few weeks due to injury.”
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